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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · spring · wake · leaves · bass · cold · kid · calf

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. spring — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spring — of water
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — child
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com